Trading in Shares of Royal Exchange Resumes

By Dipo Olowookere

Investors have resumed trading in the shares of Royal Exchange Plc on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after the suspension earlier placed on the company nearly three months ago was lifted last week.

The firm was hit with the hammer over its failure to file its financial statements as required by the listing rules.

It was one of the nine companies suspended from trading their stocks on the platform by the NGX on July 1, 2022.

The bourse activated one of the powers conferred on it in Rule 3.1: Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, Rulebook of The Exchange (Issuers’ Rules) (Default Filing Rules),

The rule provides that, “If an issuer fails to file the relevant accounts by the expiration of the cure period, the exchange will: a. send to the issuer a second filing deficiency notification within two business days after the end of the cure period; b. suspend trading in the issuer’s securities; and c. notify the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the market within 24 hours of the suspension.”

Trading in the shares of Royal Exchange was paused after the organisation failed to submit its Audited Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2021, and Unaudited Financial Statements for the quarters ended March 31 and June 30, 2022.

When the company was suspended, the board swung into action and filed the required financial results for the perusal of the investing public. As a result of this, the suspension was lifted by the NGX on Tuesday, September 27, 2022.

“In view of the company’s submission of these financial statements, and pursuant to Rule 3.3 of the Default Filing Rules, which states that; the suspension of trading in the issuer’s securities shall be lifted upon submission of the relevant accounts provided the exchange is satisfied that the accounts comply with all applicable rules of the exchange. The exchange shall thereafter also announce through the medium by which the public and the SEC was initially notified of the suspension, that the suspension has been lifted, trading license holders and the investing public are hereby notified that the suspension placed on trading in the shares of Royal Exchange Plc was lifted on September 27, 2022,” a statement from the bourse noted.